The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, a landlocked country in Northeastern Africa, covers an area of 1.1 million square km and has a population of 77.4 million belonging to 80 ethnic groups. Most local residents believe in Ethiopian Orthodox and Muslim. Amharic is the federal work language, and English is widely used. The national capital is Addis Ababa. The current president is Girma Woldegiorgis, and the current prime minister is Meles Zenawi.

Since China and Ethiopia established diplomatic relations on Nov. 11, 1970, bilateral relations have been growing steadily. In December 2003, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Ethiopia, and attended the second ministerial conference of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi visited China in 2004. Ethiopia is the co-chair country of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum. It is also a tourism destination for Chinese tourists. Bilateral trade ran to 370 million U.S. dollars in 2005.